A bit of a rant here...
Hailey, my 7 year old daughter is in need of some dental work. She has some form of abscessed tooth, and it needs to be fixed.
So, off we go to our
family dentist, who promptly does the x-rays, gets the mold made for some form
of retainer, and we go off to get the tooth pulled and the retainer put
in.
Now, this is where it all falls
apart.
Hailey is unfortunately so scared of what the dentist is going to do to her that she gets overly worked up on the day of the appointment. The Dentist, being a smart man, tells me that when they are this worked up is when they can have lifetime issues about going to the dentist – and those fears stick with them forever. So, he suggests we see a sedation dentist so her first experience isn’t too traumatic.
Sounds good to me – I had the laughing gas when I was a kid – made it easier for sure.
We get a referral from our Dentist to a child sedation specialist. We phone them, tell them what we need done, and tell them that we have the xrays, the retainer and all the documents which I will bring with me – let’s get this fixed – alright? No – it’s not alright they tell us. She needs to have a “consultation” with the new dentist – even though we have already paid for all this with the past dentist.
After battling with them over paying for something I have already paid for – I concede – let’s get it fixed before it gets worse.
So we show up at the new dentists office – and I notice she has been out of school a whopping 6 months and has invested a ton of money in her fancy new office. She does the consultation, which lasts 45 seconds MAX.
Then tells me she will do what I already told her needed to be done (our old dentist had phoned and faxed her instructions as well).
Then I tell her I want an estimate for the work, as I have no insurance company footing the bill – it comes out of my own pocket.
After billing me $67 for the 45 second consultation (which was a pure money grab – nothing more, nothing less), she show the estimate and includes the retainer piece that has already been made and paid for. I point out her mistake – “oh, I will see if I can get you a discount” she replies. WHAT? A discount on something I have already paid for !
At this point I have had enough crap from the rookie doctor – but need this tooth fixed asap before it gets worse and she goes through anymore pain.
I will tell you this though….
If you are new in business and you overtly rip people off the first time you do business with them – you will not last long in business.
She ripped me off with the consultation fee (which could have been 45 seconds invested the day she was doing the actual work) – and she is attempting to rip me off with the retainer – which won’t be allowed- I am sure the Dental Association would love to hear what one of their new graduates is doing. Not saying I will go to them, not unless she starts acting ethically in her business. I want this tooth fixed – and am willing to see what happens on the day of the work - 2 days from now. I will be there the entire time and watching like a hawk.
Any more bs though, and the report will go in and I will be posting her business and name on my blogs.
Being new to *business*, which is not taught in dental school anyhow (they teach teeth – not how to run a business), she may be in for a rude awakening when no one will go back to her because of her unethical business practices.
If she was a smart dentist…
She would have done what I and the referring dentist asked – book her in – do the 45 second consult right before doing the work – get it all done and out of the way quickly and professionally.
Bill me properly and do not bill me for things I have already paid for.
And do everything in their power to get me as a long term client of theirs (Hailey has a twin sister, Katrina, who also needs a dentist – they never once asked me about her twin sister, who was there with us making sure nothing happened to Hailey).
Only time will tell how she does on the actual dental work – and then on how they act as business owners.
Definitely off to a bad start!
What type of a start are you giving your clients when they first decide to buy from you?
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